A&M Beat: Aggies looking for nonconference foes

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M is still in search of two nonconference football games for next season, athletic director Bill Byrne wrote in his weekly online address Wednesday.

“We knew we were going to need one game by joining the (Southeastern Conference), because the Big 12 plays nine conference games, and the SEC will play eight conference games,” Byrne wrote. “We made an assumption that our friends from the state capital (Texas) would want to play us, but as that became clear it was a non-starter for them, we found ourselves needing two games.”

Byrne added: “The pool of potential opponents for our 2012 schedule is small and will likely require a much larger financial guarantee, because schools know we are in a bad position. The price tag has quickly grown to the $1 million range for a guarantee now. We find ourselves in a bidding war of sorts with other schools who are part of conference alignment and looking for games.”

A&M returns 14 lettermen from last year's 44-15 team, including All-Americans Mel Dumezich and Meagan May. The Aggies open their season Feb. 10 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., against Stanford.